Pictures may be taken of structures inside your child's body. This can be done with an
x-ray
.

Treatment

Treatment attempts to:

Correct the underlying cause

Relieve or reverse symptoms

Treating the Underlying Cause

Treatment of the underlying cause may include:

Adding the following to your child's diet:

Vitamin D-fortified dairy products

Foods high in vitamin D, such as fatty fish, egg yolk, and green vegetables

Foods high in calcium

Supplements of vitamin D, calcium, and other minerals

Biologically active vitamin D

Adequate, but not excessive, exposure to sunlight

Avoiding medication that may be causing poor calcium absorption

Treating underlying illnesses

Treating Symptoms

Treatment to relieve or correct symptoms may include:

Wearing braces to reduce or prevent bony deformities

In severe cases, surgery to correct bony deformities

Prevention

To help prevent rickets, your child should:

Drink vitamin D-fortified milk.

Consume
enough
vitamin D
, calcium, and other minerals. If you think your child's diet may be lacking, talk with the doctor about other sources of vitamins and minerals.

Get sufficient, but not excessive, exposure to sunlight. Fifteen minutes a day is usually enough. Any longer than that requires sun protection with clothing or sunscreens, especially in fair-skinned infants and children. Children with dark skin are at increased risk for rickets and may need more sun exposure and dietary supplements with vitamin D.

Breastfed babies and bottle-fed babies who do not get enough vitamin-D fortified formula may need to be given a supplement starting within the first few days of life. Talk to the doctor to make sure your child is meeting the nutritional requirements for vitamin D.

Rickets: what it is and how it's treated. Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians website. Available at:
http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/rickets.html. Updated April 2014. Accessed June 29, 2015.

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